Love At The Akatsuki
by the-name-is-paige
Summary: Yin Asami needed a place to live and a place to work. The Akatsuki Hotel seemed like a great place to escape her world. Although, something isn't quite right here. Whether it's the staff or the guests, will Asami be able to get into the swing of things with her new friends? Rated T for language and sexual situations. I do not own Naruto or its characters. Akatsuki AU.
1. Chapter 1

From the outside the hotel looked so massive I had to take a minute to admire it, even though it was raining and I was getting wet. In all honesty, it looked like a multi-level, gothic mansion that had been renovated for it to become a hotel. Its red, black, and white paint on the exterior was strangely welcoming as I approached the front door and it revealed a lush, luxurious lobby, complete with an unlit fireplace and over-stuffed lavender armchairs. I tucked some of my wet grey-blue hair behind my ear as I began to warm up.

"Hello," a calm woman's voice called from the front desk. I turned to see a kind-faced woman with short-purple hair and an oragami flower atop her head. "Welcome to the Akatsuki. Can I help you?" she asked politely. When I finally reached the counter, I saw that her nametag read _Konan._

"Yes, please," I said. I sat my large tote-bag on the counter top as I reached for some papers. "My name is Yin Asami and I have been speaking to Mr. Yohiko on the phone about my working here. I have scheduled to meet him today."

"Oh," she said, sounding a bit surprised. "Yes, one moment. Let me check his records."

I smiled at her and she hesitantly returned it. Konan was wearing a nice black Polo shirt and her nametag was a golden rectangle with bold letters pinned to her lapel. There was a pin attached to the collar of her shirt. It looked like a little red cloud. That was the symbol of the Akatsuki Hotel.

"I am very sorry," apologised Konan, pulling me away from my thoughts. Her fingers rested on the keyboard and I noticed a ring on her left ring finger. There was a purple diamond shaped like a flower bound to the gold band. "But it is very unusual for Yohiko to think about hiring other people without my knowing about it," she admitted. She turned back to me with a smile, but there was something off about it. "He will be here any moment."

"Thank you," I said. I looked down at my wet blouse. Its blue flower pattern was supposed to make me look professional, yet not too bland, but now I just looked like a wet mess. "Excuse me, Miss Konan, is there a restroom I can go to to freshen up or - "

"Ah, Yin Asami, I presume." The man's voice startled me. I turned around and saw a tall man with spiky orange hair. He was wearing the same thing as Konan, except he had a sports coat hung on his shoulders and a red tie around his neck. "It's nice to finally meet you." He held out a welcoming hand. When I accepted it, he squeezed firmly and the heat from his hand melted away some of the cold from mine.

"Yes, same to you, Mr. Yohiko," I said. Our hands dettached and I turned to the desk again to pick up my papers. "I brought my resume as you requested."

"Yes, yes," he said with a grin. "Let's go to my office, shall we?" Mr. Yohiko gestured down the hall and I nodded once.

"Yes."

"Thank you, Konan." I don't know if I saw Mr. Yohiko wink at Konan or if it was just a twitch, but either way Konan's pale cheeks brighten to a blush. "This way, Asami."

Mr. Yohiko and I walked down the hall in silence. There was a distant boom of thunder as I looked around. The carpet we were walking on was red, matching the red paint on the upper half of the walls. The bottom half of walls were white from paneling. Fancy mini-chandeliers hung on either side of the walls, coming in even intervals between each room door. There were about five rooms on either side of us. They had to have been rather large rooms because the space between each door was pretty big.

"Here we are," Mr. Yohiko said when we reached the end of the hall. A sign on the door we stopped at read _Yohiko: Owner/Manager._ He pushed opened the door and motioned for me to go in. "Have a seat, please," he offered as we both entered the blightly lit office. I heard the door close behind me with a click.

"Thank you," I said as I sank down in a very soft office chair that was positioned in front of his desk. It all looked very professional, what with different clocks showing the times in different villages and filing cabinets. I also saw a photograph of Mr. Yohiko and Konan holding hands in front of a pretty cherry blossom tree. I ship it.

"So, Miss Asami," Mr. Yohkio said as he sat behind the desk, "may I see your resume?"

"Oh, yes," I said, handing the papers over to him. I have been to plenty of job interviews before, but none had made me this nervous. He scanned his eyes over my papers, his lips twisting in thought.

"Very impressive," he said with a satisfied nod. Setting the papers down, he leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. "Why do you want to work in my humble hotel?" I swallowed hard.

"Well," I began, "I have spent to majority of my life in hotels and motels and just generally on the road. I feel as though I have a pretty good grip on how they function. Also, I think I am at a point on my life where I need to take a break from that life and settle down for a little while. When I found your lovely Akatsuki on the Internet, I thought it was perfect."

"I see," was all he said at first. Mr. Yohiko leaned back in his chair again. "I founded this establishment with my two best friends. Konan and our other friend Nagato. At first, we thought it would be a nice home for those who didn't have one. But, unfortunately, we were shut down due to funding. The village stopped providing us money because we were a non-profit organisation and did nothing monetarily to provide for the village itself. So, instead, we created this hotel. Business was booming and we made - and still do make - plenty of money. And all the time, we take a portion of our profits and donate them to another homeless shelter so those that inhabit it can stay there without getting evicted by the greedy village."

"Mr. Yohiko," I said, shaking my head when he finished, "why are you telling me this?"

"I tell this story," he said with a smile, "to everyone I hire. So they know just what it is they are working so hard for." I stared at him, mouth agape. I didn't think it would be so easy to get this job. "I think this is where you shake my hand and thank me," Mr. Yohiko mused.

"Oh." I stood up as he did and took his hand for the second time. "Thank you, Mr. Yohiko. Thank you."

"Please, just Yohiko is fine." He let go of my hand and stared as if he saw me for the first time. "How rude it is of me to let you sit there in wet clothes. You must be freezing!"

"No," I shook my head. "Really, it's all right. I'm fine." Yohiko waved a hand in dismissal at me as he walked over to a closet on the far side of the room and dug through it.

"No, that's no good," he muttered as if he were scolding himself. After pinching his chin in thought for a moment, he snapped his fingers. "Ah, right. I haven't even explained to you your living situation. Come, come." He pulled a black sweatshirt from the closet and handed it to me.

"Thank you," I said as I pulled the material over my head. It was warm and smelled of soap and fresh paper.

We hustled out of the room and down the hall. All the while, Yohiko explained to me that I would be living on the property along with all the other workers. I was to live in one of five houses in the back of the property with someone else. Since it was close to the end of the day anyway, Yohiko said I could take the rest of the day to settle into my room. I had room five, which was to the far right in the back.

Yohiko also told me that these houses weren't here when he first purchased the place. They were built here so that the workers would have a place to stay. I gathered that they were really close-knit, like a family. I wonder what that was like.

"I hope everything is up to your standards," Yohiko said to me after I carried my two duffle bags, one backpack, and tote to my room. We stood underneath the awning next to the door. "Let me know if you need anything, Asami. And welcome to the family."

"Thank you," I bowed before him as he turned and walked away.

I used the key he had given me to open the door. After I unlocked it, I dropped my bags on the floor and leaned against the now-closed door, eyes shut. I let out one long, quiet breath. It had still been raining when I got all my stuff from my car, so now the sweatshirt Yohiko had given me was damp and uncomfortable. With a sigh, I picked up the article of clothing from the bottom and pulled it over my head.

"Boy, you sure get cozy fast." The male voice startled me. Lightning cracked the sky in half from a nearby window, giving the room a flash of ominous colour. I looked about the dimly-lit room and saw a man laying down on the far twin bed. "Not that I mind. You're a hell of a lot cuter than my other roommate, Tobi, un. That guy was such a pain."

"I-I'm sorry," I stammered out. "I'm new here. Yohiko just hired me."

"I know all about that," the man waved his hand. Now that my eyes were adjusted to the dark, I could see that he had long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail with long bangs covering half of his face that I still couldn't make out very well. "The walls have eyes, don't you know?"

"I guess I don't . . . " I muttered under my breath. The nameless man reached over to the wall on his right and flicked a switch, making the ceiling light turn on. I blinked at the sudden brightness.

"My name is Deidara," he said. I didn't know how he ended up standing right in front of me, but there his was. In all his shirtless, muscular, blue-eyed glory. "And I guess the boss has decided that I'm gonna be your roomie and baby sitter."

"I'm Asami," I said, not registering that he insulted me. "Nice to meet you. Yohiko says that I start tomorrow - "

"You bet you start tomorrow," Deidara said, walking past me to the other side of the room. "We've been understaffed since Tobi got canned, un. Why do I get all the noobs anyway? But look, the door splits this place in two, so that half is mine, and this half is yours." He gestured around the room to the designated areas. "There's only one bathroom. I clean up after myself, so I expect you to, too, un. I don't care if you want to borrow my stuff or whatever, but ask me first. Got it so far?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"Good. This dresser is yours and there's a closet right there." Deidara opened a door on the far left wall that was parallel to my twin bed to reveal the closet he was talking about. "And for Kami's sake don't play shitty music too loudly, un. If you're on the phone with your mom or dad or boyfriend or whatever, and you're basically shouting into the phone, expect me to break it, okay?"

"Actually, I don't think that will be a problem at all," I said. He blinked hesitantly for a second.

"Then we'll get along great," he finally said. He rushed past me to bet back to his side of the room. "Don't worry, you'll meet the rest of the staff during your training, un. Everyone here is part of a well-oiled machine and if you get stuck in the gears, you're out of here. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

I picked up my bags and set them all on my bed. The bathroom was right across from the door and directly in between our beds. I decided to take my backpack and unload all of my toiletries first. After that I started to fold and hang up my clothes in silence, only the infrequent booms and rumbles of thunder cutting into the wordlessness. I let my eyes scan over the room. The paint on the walls was a shade of dark blue, like midnight or navy. The carpet was soft and black and very clean, as if it were just vaccumed. Both of the bed spreads matched the colours of the walls and floor. Deidara's side of the room was littered with personal effects. He had a desk on his side and it housed books and candles and a laptop. One of the titles read _Theories and History of Art_.

"Did you do that?" I pointed at an oil painting of a type of firework display on his wall. There were clashes of colour and sharp edges and shading that made it seem like it was in motion. "It's beautiful." Deidara looked up from the book he was reading and scoffed amusedly as he stared at the painting.

"My man Sasori painted that for me for my birthday a while back, un," he said. "He thinks that art is something that is able to be preserved and is eternal, so he does his best to capture the beauty." He shook his head.

"Is that not what art is?" I asked as I placed a stack of folded shirts in my dresser. Deidara turned to look at me as he spoke.

"Of course not," he said like it was obvious. "Art is spirit. Art is not an animal that can be caged on a canvas. Passion and anger and hate and love and joy are put into art, but it's not something that can last. Art is a fleeting flame dancing across whatever it consumes. Art is the breath hitched in your throat when you're afraid for your life. Art is your heart melting when you see your love for the first time. It cannot be prolonged or captured. Art . . . is an explosion." Right then, another flash of lightning darted across the sky, followed by a boom.

"Wow," I said, staring. "I never really thought of it like that."

"No one really does, but they're all wrong." Deidara went back to reading without another word.

I went back to hanging up my clothes and putting my things away. I couldn't get over just how passionate Deidara was about art. I've been pretty good at drawing all my life and I sketch a lot, but never with the degree of devotion I saw in Deidara's eyes.

"So what's the deal with you?" Deidara asked me, not looking up from his book. I paused before placing two of my own books on the night stand next to my bed.

"What do you mean?" I asked, placing a small statue of a white dragon on said nightstand.

"What brings you to the Akatsuki?"

"I needed a job and a place to stay." I shrugged, nonchalant. "I found this hotel on the internet and it sounded like it fit my needs." Deidara gave me a little side-glance.

"Oh." He didn't sound like he was going to let it go, but he did anyway

I turned my back to him as I placed a brush on my dresser. That was the last item I unpacked. All of my clothes were put away and other personal objects were placed where they needed to go. I flattened my duffle bags and backpack and put them on the floor of my closet. I slowly closed the door. After setting my tote bag on the ground next to my bed, I laid down and stared up at the ceiling with my hands behind my head.

With no phone, I had no one to call to let them know I got the job, or that I found a place to live, or that my new roommate is a crazy-dedicated artist with a side of sass, or anything. Even if I had a phone, I would have no one to call. All of my contacts have been extinguished. No mom or dad; No friends; No boyfriend.

I shuddered in spite of myself. I'd been on the road for a long time. No one could tell me what to do, where to go, how to dress and act. I've been alone all this time. This job, this place will hopefully become a home for me. This place might just be the escape I was looking for.

"You've been in here for three hours and the only thing you have to say about a painting I didn't do?" Deidara asked, shattering the silence that encased us. I turned my head to look at him. "Don't women usually talk more?"

"Don't men usually pray that women stop talking?" I recanted. Deidara tilted his head and rested it on his hand, almost in a pout.

"Yeah, but this is boring, un."

"It's getting pretty late," I stated aloud, noticing the clock above the front door. I got up to pull some pajamas out of my dresser. "We might as well be getting to sleep." Deidara sighed with a slump of the shoulders.

"You've got a point, rookie."

After I went into the bathroom to change, I found that the lights were turned off and I was surrounded by darkness. Not being used to the room yet, I stumbled a few times before finally reaching my bed.

"And don't try to think of taking advantage of my sleeping form," Deidara warned me. My onyx eyes widened in the dark,

"I-I wasn't going to - "

"Calm down, newbie, it was a joke," he chuckled. I heard him yawn as I settled under the covers. "I'll be waking you up early, so I hope you're a morning person."

"All right, thank you."

The even pitter patter of rain on the roof filled the silence we left like a bucket filled with water. I found it very easy to drift of to sleep while at the same time, anticipating my first day working at the Akatsuki Hotel.


	2. Chapter 2

At precisely six o'clock in the morning, I was awoken by that low, yet seemingly always annoyed and bored voice of Deidara, my mentor at the Akatsuki. It took me a moment to remember exactly where I was, but when I looked around at the blue-walled, black-carpeted room, I remembered.

I sat up, my blue and black comforter slipping off of me and onto the bed. It was very bright in the room, the light of dawn shining through the windows and the artificial light from the ceiling bulb glowing harshly. I lifted my fists to my face, rubbing the drowsiness out of my eyes.

"Hey." I lowered my hands and turned to the source of Deidara's voice. He was standing next to my bed, arms folded over his chest. "You'd better start getting ready, un. Your uniform is in the bathroom."

"Yes," I nodded, climbing out of bed. My shoulder brushed against his hard bicep as I passed him to get to the bathroom. It was then I realised how very short I was compared to him.

Just as promised, there was a black Polo shirt on the counter, coupled with kahki pants. I set them aside as I freshened myself up - washing my face, brushing my teeth, and whatnot. After I dressed myself, I put on a little makeup to accent my green eyes that popped in comparison to my pale complexion. When I exited the bathroom, Deidara was waiting for me, arms still crossed and foot tapping impatiently. Other than the tapping, he had remained utterly still like a statue.

"Let's go."

We left our room and headed off to the hotel. Deidara told me that the first thing we were going to do today was learn how to properly clean the room and reset everything the guests had moved. He said that I would generally never be left alone to do this, so some other staff member would always be with me to help. Deidara also said that I would almost never see any of the guests unless I was with the cart in the hallway, so I wouldn't have to worry too much about the guests being in my way.

"All right," Deidara said, striding ahead of me as I pushed a cleaning cart behind him, "room 106 is where we're headed, un. Our guests just checked out this morning, but we have a reservation for this room in four hours, so we need to get started as soon as possible."

Pulling out a key from his pocket, Deidara stopped at the third room down the hall and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and ushered me inside. I wouldn't say that the room was a wreck, but it was far from tidy. The bedding was a mess, the table in the far corner of the room was covered in dirty plates and napkins, the floor was littered with pieces of garbage, and quite honestly it just smelled.

"Let's get started, un." Deidara closed the door behind me and quickly moved to the bed. "First, let's strip and remake this thing." I nodded and headed over to him. We pulled off the comforter, sheets, and pillow cases and put them in the laundry hamper of the cleaning cart. Next, Deidara showed me how to make the bed exactly right, folding the corners of the sheets and tucking the fluffy, clean comforters under the matresses and pulling the pillowcases back on the poofy pillows.

"Perfect, un," Deidara nodded in approval. "Now let's get to picking up the trash. This is the easiest part." Deidara went over to the cart and pulled out a garbage bag and a plastic bin. "If it's just rubbish, toss it in the bag. If it's dishes, put it in the bin and we'll take it to the kitchen. Get it, un?"

"Yes, I get it," I said with a nod. I took the bin and went over to the table to begin picking up all of the plates and bowls and eating utensils that were left behind. "Is it all right if I ask who was in this room?" I asked and glanced over at my mentor, who was picking up random trash from the floor. He shrugged.

"We gossip a lot around here, un," he said, the shadow of a smirk on his face. "There were three friends in this room - all of them young adults from the Sand Village. You ask them, they'll say they were just passing through on a road trip. You ask me, I'll tell you they were looking for a place to get lucky, which is why they chose the room with one bed even though we told them we had rooms with more."

"Oh," I said, feeling my face heat up a little. "That's awkward." Deidara chuckled.

"Here at the Akatsuki, we have a Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Our guests only tell us what they want to tell us, un. It's completely confidential."

"I see."

"Yeah."

After that, we went back to picking things up in an uncomfortable silence. I was getting pretty used to the work, thinking that if this is as bad as it's going to get, this job really rocks so far. It was just so easy, we finished picking up with garbage really quickly. Deidara said that we'd have to wash the windows and mirrors, vaccum, and clean the bathroom nearing the end of the cleaning spree. He told me to take over the mirror and window washing while he started on the bathroom - he wanted me to start off easy so he could tell me how to properly clean the bathrom the next time we fixed up a room together or if they called us down from the front desk to clean another area.

Us. We. Together. Those words just felt so _right._ I haven't had connections with other people for a while, and after being so welcomed to the Akatsuki, I felt like I could really have a family here. And as I stood there, washing the windows in the back of this beautiful hotel room with the view of the crystal-clear pool, smelling that potent scent of chemicals from the bathroom, feeling the soft carpet beneath my shoes, I thought that this job could be a lot of fun to fall in love with.

"Oi," Deidara's voice called from the bathroom doorway. I turned and saw his blonde head poking out of the door. "Day dreaming on the job already, un?"

"I've finished," I said, putting the rag I was using in a bucket that contained boxes, bottles, and wipes of other cleaning materials. I picked up the bucket by its handle and it swayed in my small hand as I marched back over to the cart. Deidara eyed me over as I placed my bucket on a lower shelf of the cart.

"Well done then," he said. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "I'm going to wheel this on over to the laundry room, un. You sit tight here and vaccum up the carpet, okay?" I nodded once, already starting towards the beige-bagged vaccum cleaner in the corner of the room. "I'll be right back. If you finish just wait for me."

"Yes." My back was to him, but I heard the subtle squeaks of the wheels turning fade away as he backed out of the room. He closed the door on his way out, the latch clicking shut loudly in the quiet room.

After I plugged in the contraption, I tapped the power button with my toe, making the vaccuum cleaner roar to life. It handled easily enough, moving back and forth easily as I pushed it. The only noise that overpowered the howling of the motor was the sound of larger objects clanking up the tubes into the baggie. I found myself humming as I maneuvered inbetween and under the beds. A smile stretched across my pale face. If this was as hard as the job got, I could get used to this.

But then the even harder part came.

I didn't realise someone else was in the room until I had turned off the vaccuum cleaner and they were already in top of me. I yelped in surprise and fear as they pushed me onto the bed, but I was silenced by a hand convering my mouth. The man on top of me had pale skin and long brown hair with terrifying golden eyes, the pupils in slit-form. He licked his lips as I struggled under him, and has words slipped out of his mouth like a serpent.

"Hello, my dear," he whispered to me. He was pinning my arms above my head with one incredibly strong hand while the other one remained fastened to my mouth. I was so afraid - what was he going to do to me? When was Deidera coming back? It would only be a matter of time before someone came in to help me, but would it be too late? "We're going to have some fun."

He placed his cold lips on my neck and I cringed away from the sensation of his spit on my skin as I thrashed. A throbbing, stinging feeling came from my neck as he bit me. Tears moistened my eyes in pain and fear. I shrieked under his hand, begging that Deidera would come in and saved me. When the man came back up, those golden eyes of his were laced with desire and a droplet of red blood was the only colour on his skin as it dripped down his chin.

"Delicious," he said throatily. He removed his hand from my mouth and attacked it with his own mouth. I felt like I was going to throw up as the combined taste of my blood and his saliva filled my mouth. As a defense mechanism, I bit his lip as hard as I could, hoping that would give me leeway to run. "Dammit!" He cursed. I somehow managed to push him off of me and fall to the floor.

"_Deidera!_" I screamed through the slightly opened door. I started crawling to the exit, only to be pounced on by the man. Lust had disappeared from his eyes and was replaced by fury. He turned me over on my back and struck me across the face. "Deidera! Help! Please - " Again, he struck with all his might.

"I've left my mark here," he said, more to himself than anything. He bent forward one more time and bit my chest - the top two buttons of my Polo had come undone during the struggle - causing me to bleed again. I screamed again and pushed the man off of me.

"What the hell!?" A voice from the door called as it swung open. Finally. Deidera was in the room with someone else next to him. This guy had white hair that was combed back and a necklace around his throat with some symbol I couldn't make out. I kicked myself backwards, propelling myself to get closer to the door. Deidera grabbed my biceps to pull me to my feet. I held the wound on my neck as Deidera put himself between the man and me.

"This fucker," the other man muttered angrily. "Orochimaru, what the hell do you want? How the hell did you get in here?" The man, Orochimaru, just cocked a hip to the side and wiped his mouth free of blood.

"You boys should really beef up security or breaking in here won't be fun anymore." He didn't even look human. He looked like a snake - a cold-blooded creature. He found my eyes as I tried to peer at him over Deidera's shoulder. Something in his face contorted and made my skin crawl. "And I was just paying the newest member of the Akatsuki a welcome."

"Hey!" Deidera held his arm behind himself to gently scoot me behind him, and I gladly hid in the space between shoulder blades. "Don't you _dare _look at her, un! We already called the police!" Orochimaru only laughed at him.

"It's quite a shame I won't be here," he said condescendingly. "Do send the boys in blue my best regards. As for you, little lady," he spoke to me, but I didn't dare look at him. "I'll be seeing you later."

"Hidan, the window!" Deidera shouted, but it was too late. I heard the window unlatch and fling open. Orochimaru was gone. Covering my mouth to keep any sound from coming out, I knew I was about to cry. I came to the floor, my shaking knees no longer able to support my weight. "Asami, are you all right?" I shook my head, unable to form words as I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my face. "Hidan, go get Yahiko, un."

"Right." He left. There was nothing more I wanted than to curl up in a ball and have nothing bother me, but Deidera's voice was pulling me out of those thoughts.

"Let me see you," he said gently. Everything was different now. Twenty minutes ago, he spoke to me as a superior - professional and commanding. Now, he sounded like a concerned friend. His tone was soft and caring. He gently put his hand on mine and easily pulled my face out of my hands. "You're bleeding. We'll have to fix that, un." I couldn't look at him. I looked shamefully at the ground.

"I-I'm sorry I messed up the bed . . ." I said quietly, almost hoping he hadn't heard me. There was a brief second where we didn't say anything. But then there was soft pressure on my chin. Deidera was pulling my face so I could look at him.

"Don't apologise for what that bastard did," he said the me. His beautiful blue eyes staring into my green ones.

"Who is he?" I asked. Deidera kept his thumb and index finger curled around my chin, and it felt like he was smoothing his thumb over my skin, but I wasn't sure. He sighed.

"We'll explain that when the boss is here, too. He'll be able to explain it best." Deidera stood up and offered a hand to me. I accepted and he pulled me to my feet again. I looked in the room.

"I have to clean it up."

"I'll have someone else get it," he promised. "Don't worry about it, un. Let's go." He held his arm around my shoulder as me walked down the hallway.

I felt so guilty. First day on the job and I ruin everything. I can't even clean a room without something going wrong. Kami, Yahiko is probably going to fire me. Then I'll have to pack my bags and set out again. I really thought the Akatsuki would be a good place for me. But I guess I was wrong yet again.


	3. Chapter 3

After the police came and took my statement, they told us that they would begin the search for Orochimaru. Deidera told me to wash up in the staff bathroom when they left, he had to go fix up the room. He told me that he would be waiting outside the bathroom door for me when I came out. As my hands shook underneath the running water, I felt sick to my stomach with the memory of Orochimaru. He could've hurt me so much more than he did. He could have killed me. And after he'd finish me off, he could've gone for Deidera or anyone else here. I remebered the taste of his tongue when it slid into my mouth, the sensation of him biting into my skin, the weight of his body on mine.

And with that thought, I turned around to the toilet and vomited. I turned back to the sink and wiped my mouth clean of bile. I splashed some cold water in my face and stared at my reflection. Was this really going to happen all over again? I'm in a different place, but I have the same problems. Will it always be this way? Is the world just that cruel?

"Asami?" Deidera's voice called from the other side of the bathroom door. His voice was gentle, even if it wasn't muffled by the two inches of oak. "Is everything all right in there, un?"

"Yes," I said, shaky voice betraying my answer. My pale hands gripped the edge of the sink so tightly, my knuckles were even whiter than usual. "What is it?"

"The boss wants to talk to you when you're done in there, un," he said. When I said nothing in return he quickly added, "But take your time, un."

"Yes," I said again. He didn't reply and for that I was grateful. Although Deidera was being very kind and thoughtful, I just needed a minute. To make sure I wouldn't throw up again.

I grabbed a paper towel from its holder and dampened it with water before I dabbed my neck clean of my own blood. The puncture marks from Orochimaru's teeth were still there after I mopped up the blood. With a heavy-hearted sigh, I repeated the action with my chest. I buttoned my shirt back up after I was done. My reflection looks so different than it had half an hour ago. Before, I was eager and full of life. Now, I look . . . hollow. An anxious-looking Deidera greeted me when I finaly pushed the bathroom door open into the hall. He was leaning against the wall with his foot propped up against it, looking out of another doorway with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Hey," he said. The staff restroom was behind the front desk, hidden from the incoming guests by an alcove, which is where we were standing.

"Hi." We stood there looking at each other for a moment - me not wanting to face Yahiko with my failure and Deidera just . . . I'm not quite sure.

"Oh," he suddenly realised something. He pulled something out of his front pocket that looked like paper. "A band-aid for your . . ."

"Right," I nodded. I reached for the bandage, but he pulled it back.

"I'll do it, un," he offered. "I can see better." I nodded hesitantly.

"Okay."

Deidera tore open the package and discarded the remains in a nearby trash can. He gently took hold of my chin as he did before, but this time turned my head away from him. His hands were warm as his fingers skimmed over my neck, gently pressing the band-aid over my bite mark. After he was done, he smoothed his hand over it. I turned my head to face him again, but he didn't drop his hand. It was curled caringly around my neck while his thumb rested on my cheek. I didn't turn away or reject him. His touch made me feel calm and comfortable, even in this time of stress.

"Whoa, I'll come back later," a voice called out. I backed away in surprise, causing Deidera's hand to fall. I recognised Hidan standing in the doorway between the first hall and the front desk. He looked older, what with his white hair, but he seemed to have a type of youthful spirit in him. He had a litle smirk on his face, but when he saw my frightened features, he lost it. "Sorry. Yahiko wants to talk to you. Both of you. Now."

"All right Hidan, un," Deidera said, sounding annoyed.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked timidly. I didn't know Hidan, but he seemed callous to me. Hidan blinked.

"Why would you be?" He asked, then shook his head. "That motherfucker Orochimaru is the one that's going to have to pay. This was the last straw. If the cops don't get to him first, _I'll _be the one to string the bastard up."

"Hidan," Deidera warned. He shook his head sternly. Hidan rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Dei. Boss-man wants you guys pronto." With that, Hidan turned his back on us and walked away. Despite the warning, I wasn't motivated to move. I didn't want to get fired. I didn't want Orochimaru to hunt me down. I didn't want him to come back here and cause terror to others. I didn't want to leave the Akatsuki.

"Hey." Deidera gingerly put a hand on my shoulder and that was when I realised my lip was quivering. "Stop blaming yourself. You had absolutely no idea what was going on and you did everything you were supposed to do, un. You fought and called for help. Don't worry about a thing."

"B-But," I cupped a hand over my mouth, afraid of sobbing outwardly. Deidera wrapped his arm around my shoulder until my face was buried in his chest and his strong arms were comforting me. I don't know how long we stood there until we realised we still had to talk to Yahiko.

. . .

Sitting in the chair I first sat in when I arived at the Akatsuki, I felt like someone on trial. Deidera stood by the door, but Hidan was told to go back to work. Koana stood behind Yahiko, who was sitting at his desk, his hands folded in front of his face. He asked me to replay the events that happened, then asked Deidera to tell him what he saw.

"Orochimaru was standing over Asami, un," he recalled, his folded arms flexing as he tightened his fist in anger. "I heard he screaming before - that was when I told Hidan to call the cops. He was hitting her and if she hadn't found the strength to push him off it could have been a lot worse."

"What did you do after you entered the room?" Yahiko asked, trying to remain nuetral. Konan in the corner looked at me pitifully and worriedly, like a mother concerned for her child.

"I moved Asami out of the room and told Orochimaru we called the police. Then he made like a snake and slithered out the window."

Everything was silent for a moment. Yahiko was thinking hard, Deidera was silently seething, and Konan kept glancing at me like she had something to say, but either wasn't sure if she should or didn't know how. I was just waiting. Waiting for the words. _We have to let you go_ or _Pack your bags _or _We're sorry you have to do this, but . . . _It was always the same.

"How are you feeling, Asami?" Yahiko asked suddenly. I had been staring at the floor, but his voice made me lift my head to look him in the eye. His hands were no longer in front of his face and his expression was no longer balanced, but it was kind.

"I'm fine." Even though my face had a dull pain from when Orochimaru hit me. He sighed. Here it comes.

"That bastard," he muttered, but it was loud in the silent room. "I am so sorry this happened to you. I swear to you, Asami, justice _will _come around. Orochimaru will be hunted down like the monster he is and he will be taken out."

"I . . . " I didn't expect that at all. I thought I would be fired so nobody would find out about this incident at the Akatsuki Hotel and have its reputation damaged. Instead, they apologised to me? Whatever miracle took place, I didn't question it. I just said, "Thank you, Yahiko."

"Of course, Asami." He smiled kindly at me. This really was like a family.

"Maybe you should tell her just who Orochimaru is, Yahiko," Konan suggested, her gentle voice didn't falter, and her expression never strained. Yahiko blew out a breath form his lips.

"You're right, Konan," he said warily. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling as he spoke. "Orochimaru and I are not the greatest of friends. Needless to say. For the past few years, he has been causing trouble for my franchise - destroying property, terrorising guests and staff, and what have you - but it has never been to this extent. At first, it was juvenile and quite embarrassing. He had thrown toilet paper all over the place once and I had to shut down the hotel for a day just to clean it all off, successfully wasting a day of profit."

"I'm sorry," I interrupted, not quite getting it. "What exactly happened between you two that made you rivals?" Yahiko glanced over his shoulder at his wife and sighed.

"I married Konan." I blinked.

"A lover's quarrel?" I clutched my head in frustration. "I was attacked because of a lover's quarrel? I wish I was warned about this earlier!"

"Asami, if I had warned you, you wouldn't have wanted the job anymore," Yahiko said in response to my outburst. I sucked in a breath.

"I apologise. But honestly, is that really it? Because you took his sweetheart?" Konan shook her head, her violet hair swirling around her shoulders.

"Not quite," she said as she came to sit next to me. "Orochimaru had been stalking me, you see. I was already engaged to Yahiko and I hadn't even known Orochimaru personally. I was just his fixation. After our wedding, Orochimaru was furious - he came to the hotel in a wave of violence and anger, breaking things, cursing - and we had to get the police to take him away. But because he was deemed mentally ill, they did not put him in prison. He underwent treatment from a while and got a note from his doctor saying he was okay and the set him free with the public." Konan heaved out a breath of defeat. "And I suppose they were very wrong about his stability. I am so very sorry this happened to you Asami." She put her hand on mine to sooth me. Her skin was soft and smooth like paper.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling stupid. "I didn't realise. What happens if he comes back here?"

"The guys and I will take him down, un," Deidera said with the shadow of a smirk on his face. "Don't you worry. We'll protect the Akatsuki and everyone in it with our lives." I managed a small smile at him.

"That's what I like to hear, Deidera," Yahiko said with a light chuckle. "Are you still up for working Asami?"

"Yes," I nodded. "The day has only just begun, and I refuse to let this slow us down."

"Excellent," Yahiko said with a smile. "Let's get to work."

. . .

It was around eight-thirty when Deidera escorted me to the laundry room. He told me that whenever it was that I start cleaning rooms by myself, this is where I would take the dirty sheets and such. The strong smell of bleach and fabric softener hit me as soon as I walked into the room. The walls were a sterile white and the tiles beneath my feet shined. Clothes dryers stacked on top of washing machines lined one of the walls, while parallel to that wall, a sewing station sat to mend any damaged fabric.

"And this is Hidan," Deidera said as we approached the familiar man. I extended my hand out to him. "You haven't been properly introduced, un. Asami, Hidan. Hidan, Asami."

"Pleasure to meet you," I said as he squeezed my hand in his.

"Charmed," he replied teasingly. "Sucks that we had our first encounter over such shitty circumstances." I just shrugged.

"Mind showing her the ropes while I make the beds in 109?"

"Sure."

Before he left, Deidera gave me a reassuring smile, in which I returned a very weak one. Although I told Yahiko I was fine to work, I didn't really feel completely up to it. Hidan seemed nice enough - though he swore like a sailor. I could see his necklace more clearly now that I was closer. It was a metal triangle indside of a slightly larger circle. He motioned for me to follow him to one of the washing machines and I did.

"All right, this is pretty easy to remember," he said, pointing to the dials and buttons. "This one - small, medium, large, oversize - refers to how muchs hit you put in it. Comforters generally go in one at a time at oversize, but the pillow cases and sheets all go in together at either medium or large, depending on how many you put in. Towels get to be in their own load - still dividing colour from whites - usually in medium. With me so far?"

"Yes," I nodded, mentally jotting all these things down in my head. Hidan smiled a blindingly white grin.

"Excellent." He then pointed to another dial. "Cold-cold is for colours, warm-cold is for whites unless they have stained like blood or something, then it's cold-cold or the whole load will go pink."

"Right."

"Now, the dryer is a lot easier to remember," he said, raising his gaze to the dryers. The knobs and dials weren't so far up that I couldn't reach them, but getting loads into the thing would be another story. "All you have to do is turn the dial to the star and press start. And don't worry, I have a stool in the back for you, Short Fry." I nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. His teasing actually was kind of nice in a weird way.

He turned away from the machine and walked me to a back room where there was cleaning suplies in bulk. "Fabric softener for everything but towels, bleach of all whites, and colour booster is obviously for colours. Detergent is with everything, needless to say."

"Got it," I said when he raised an eyebrow at me. He nodded and dug around in a corner before emerging with a small step ladder in his grip.

"Told you, Short Fry."

"Thank you," I said with a subtle eyeroll as he handed it off to me.

"Sure thing," he replied and tussled my blue-gray hair. "C'mon, I got a couple more things up my sleeve."

"Yes."

He took me back to the main room and I discarded the stool on the ground next to the machine at the end. We arrived at a long table with basket on either end. One had crumpled and indistinct cloth in it, while the other one was empty.

"And this here is the folding station," he announced, taking a towel from the basket, "the bain of my existence."

"Why is it that?" I aked, tilting my head to the side.

"Because folding this shit is so damn tedious," he groaned, shaking his head. I have to sacrifice so much time trying to get these Jashin-damned things to look nice. I can do it, don't get me wrong, but it's annoying." He sighed. "Anyway, this is how you do it." He folded up the cloth slowly and neatly, making sure I got it. "Now you try."

"Right." I grabbed one from the basket and mimicked his motions. "How is that?"

"Very nice," he said. "Now do the rest of them for me, would ya? I'm gonna hit the vending machine. Thanks, Short Fry."

"My name is Asami!" I called after him as he walked out of the room, a smirk on his face. "Hmph!" I grunted to myself, a smile creeping on my face still. Folding the towels as I was told, the smile didn't leave my face. I had forgotten all about the incident earlier. Orochimaru was far from my mind, because the situation had been put under control. Earlier, I hadn't felt safe but no I do. I'm happy, even.

Deidera was caring. Yahiko was protective. Konan was kind. Hidan was nice. Everyone I've met so far were very friendly towards me, even if some of them have a funny way of showing it - cough, cough, Hidan, cough. I wondered how the others would be. I knew there were quite a few more, but I'm not sure I'll get to meet all of them today.

"Wow," Hidan said when he came back in the room. He was crunching a chip from a small bag he retrieved from the vending machines. "You're almost finished. Impressive." He was right - I only had three more towels to fold - make that two as I placed a newly folded one in the basket. "Are you bucking for my job or something?"

"No, but I'm good at these sort of tasks, I guess," I said. AFter saying that, I finished the last towel and turned to him. He had an unopened bag of potato chips in his hand and held it out to me.

"For your hard work, kid."

"Thank you." I dusted off my hands on my pants before accepting the snack. I tore open the bag and asked, "Now what?"

"Now we wait," he said and continued after he finished swallowing a chip, "for your boyfriend to come back with the bedding from 109. Then you can wash it."

"He is not my boyfriend," I clarified.

"Yet," Hidan muttered as he ate another chip.

"I thought you were the only one that washed things here?" I asked, ignoring him. At this point, we were both sitting on top of the folding station, munching on chips. Hidan paused pouring the remaining crumbs in his mouth to answer.

"Yeah, but if I'm ever not here or overflowed, it's good to have some people to count on to help. You and Deidera and like two other people are the only ones that bother to learn this shit."

"I was forced."

"I can live with that, Short Fry."

"Oi, oi, why are you two just sitting around?" Deidera asked as he walked in, wheeling a cart full of dirty fabric in front of him. "Some of us are doing real work while you two just gossip and eat snacks, un? Sad."

"We were just gossiping about you, Love Muffin," Hidan cackled. He jumped down from the table and threw his thumb over his shoulder, indicating to me. "Especially this one. Wouldn't shut up about you. Saying things like 'Oh, Dei-kun has such a nice ass' and whatnot." Deidera looked up at my red face with a teasing look.

"Oh really?"

"No really!" I exclaimed, embarrassed. "That did not happen!"

"She's in denial," hidan winked at Deidera. "All right, show me what you learned!" He ordered before I could say anything against him.

Fuming, I hopped off of the table, leaving my half-full bag of chips behind. I walked over to Deidera to get the cart from him but our hands touched in the process, making my red face even redder. "Sorry. I didn't mean to - "

"Ah, young love," Hidan cooed from behind Deidera, who was smiling kindly at me.

I turned my back to them as I brought the cart over to the machines. I put the comforter in one, set it to cold-cold and oversize and put in the colour-booster, detergent, and fabric softener. After closing the lid to that one, I got the rest of the sheets and pillow cases and a throw blanket and repeated the cycle, except I set it to large. This was all still confusing and it was my first time, so I just kind of guessed on half of it. I turned to the two, seeking approval.

"Very good." Hidan winked at me with a smile. Deidera nodded.

"What'd I tell you, Hidan, un?" He asked, not taking his brilliant blue eyes off of me. I felt the pressure of his stare as I looked back at him. "She's going to be a great member of the Akatsuki."


End file.
